1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a setting method for a wireless communication device, a computer peripheral equipment, and an information processor.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, the number of wireless LAN apparatuses has increased, and computer peripheral equipment adapted to be wirelessly connected through the wireless LAN apparatus have come onto the market.
The wireless LANs each conforming in system to the IEEE802.11 Standard have come into wide use. In particular, the systems of the wireless LANs conforming to the IEEE802.11b Standard and the IEEE802.11a Standard have become the international standards. The number of personal computer peripheral equipment in each of which the wireless LAN apparatus conforming to the IEEE802.11 Standard is installed and hence which can communicate with personal computers has also increased as the personal computers having the wireless LAN apparatuses conforming to the IEEE802.11b Standard and the IEEE802.11a Standard installed therein have come into wide use.
Here, the most serious problem in the wireless LAN is security. In particular, in a case where the wireless LAN apparatus is used in an ordinary household, in general, an ID such as an Extended Service Set Identifier (ESSID) which has been set upon initialization is continuously used thereafter as it is, and a user is unwilling to set the security using an encryption key or the like.
When a wireless LAN is also used in a neighboring house in a multiple dwelling house such as an apartment or in a heavily residence built-up area of a city, there is a problem in that a computer can be unintentionally connected to the wireless LAN system in the neighboring house and private data can possibly be leaked into the wireless LAN system in the neighboring house.
In the wireless LAN apparatus conforming to the IEEE802.11 Standard, the communication can be carried out in two modes, i.e., a star type connection mode called an infrastructure mode, and a one-to-one correspondence communication mode called an adhoc mode.
In the infrastructure mode described above, a MAC address at an access point which is a center of the star type connection is used as an initial group ID.
On the other hand, in the communication in the adhoc mode, a MAC address of the wireless LAN apparatus is used as an initial value of an ID of the wireless LAN apparatus in many cases. Thus, one ID is used in combination with the other ID.
Here, since “the MAC address” is a number specific to each apparatus, “the MAC address” of one house does not overlap with the ID of a neighboring house, and therefore a personal computer and its peripheral equipment in one house are not wirelessly connected to a personal computer and its peripheral equipment in the neighboring house. In addition, the wireless LAN apparatus conforming to the IEEE802.11 Standard can obtain four channels in Japan as channels having frequency bands not overlapping each other. Hence, normally, a channel which another person uses is not used, and a channel on which a less influence of an interference wave is exerted is used if circumstances allow.
However, an initial ID is a simple initial value such as “Anyone” in some cases, and also no encryption key is set in many cases. Thus, when a user uses an ID which is left as being initialized, a wireless LAN apparatus in the neighboring house which is newly added may be wirelessly connected to a wireless network in the user's own house so that a personal computer in the neighboring house may be wirelessly connected to a printer in the user's own house to print out information. In addition, since the encryption key is not set, data such as file information or contents of a file may be directly viewed through the personal computer in the neighboring house.